''Bitter Jester'' is a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

starring Maija DiGiorgio, Kenny Simmons, Jody Del Giorno, and Heather McConnell. The film includes interviews with comedians Richard Pryor and Richard Belzer, among others.

Synopsis

Maija DiGiorgio is a naive

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

comic whose therapist recommends a video diary as a means of examining herself. Maija's ex-boxer boyfriend, Kenny Simmons, and director of

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

, Jody Del Giorno see a means to instant stardom. Maija is searching for answers to the

meaning of life The meaning of life, or the answer to the question: "What is the meaning of life?", pertains to the significance of living or existence in general. Many other related questions include: "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", or "What ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

as well as the answers for art and artifice. She allows Kenny to impose his "vision" onto her film. Before long, the three (along with a crew of misfits) are crisscrossing the country, interviewing celebrities under a parade of false pretenses. In one famous incident, Kenny makes the cover of The New York Post after a confrontation with

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...

Critical reception

Dennis Harris of '' Variety'' said, "making a movie without really knowing what it's going to be about is not generally advisable, but Maija Di Giorgio's ''Bitter Jester'' makes that process quite entertaining." Harris hailed ''Jester'' as "often hilarious and always diverting" and noted "Di Giorgio may fret that 'Maybe comedy isn't the thing I should be pursuing.' Regardless, she definitely has a future as a filmmaker." Steve Rhodes of the Online Film Critics Society praised, "''Bitter Jester'' is much funnier and more insightful than a similar documentary, ''

Comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

''", while MetroActiv described it as "Intense, disturbing, and voyeuristic, the documentary about stand up that's not afraid to jump right into the muck." ''Bitter Jester'' had a

director's cut A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...

, titled ''Hollywood Outlaw Movie''.*

Celebrity appearances

Joy Behar Josephine Victoria "Joy" Behar (; née Occhiuto) is an American comedian, television host, actress, and writer. She co-hosts the ABC daytime talk show '' The View'', where she is the only original panelist still regularly appearing. She hosted ...

* Richard Belzer *

Peter Boyle Peter Lawrence Boyle (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American actor. Known as a character actor, he played Frank Barone on the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' and the comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof ''Young Fra ...

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

* Norm Crosby * Phyllis Diller * Whoopi Goldberg * Gilbert Gottfried *

D.L. Hughley Darryl Lynn Hughley (; born March 6, 1963) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Hughley is best known as the original host of BET's ''ComicView'' from 1992 to 1993, the eponymous character on the ABC/UPN sitcom ''The Hughleys'', and as on ...

* Dom Irrera * Kevin James * Terry Jones * Richard Kind * Kathy Kinney *

Robert Klein Robert Klein (born February 8, 1942) is an American stand-up comedian, singer, and actor. He is known for his appearances on stage and screen. He has released four standup comedy specials: ''A Child of the 50s'' (1973), ''Mind Over Matter'' (197 ...

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

Colin Mochrie Colin Andrew Mochrie (; born November 30, 1957) is a Scottish-born Canadian actor, writer, producer and improvisational comedian, best known for his appearances on the British and US versions of the improvisational TV show ''Whose Line Is It A ...

* Paul Mooney * Richard Pryor *

Colin Quinn Colin Edward Quinn (born June 6, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Quinn first gained widespread attention for his work as a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 20 ...

* Tony Roberts * Ray Romano * Rita Rudner *

Vincent Schiavelli Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan s ...

* George Schlatter * Paul Shaffer * Ryan Stiles * Jerry Stiller * Nicole Sullivan *

Judy Tenuta Judy Lynn Tenuta (November 7, 1949 – October 6, 2022) was an American comedian, actress, and comedy musician. She was known for her whimsical and brash persona of "The Love Goddess", mixing insult comedy, observational humor, self-promotion, ...

* Rich Vos

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0353244, title=Bitter Jester 2003 films American documentary films American independent films 2003 documentary films 2003 independent films Films scored by Joe Delia 2000s English-language films 2000s American films